What are we doing here? Part 4

Last year, I wrote three different posts about the classes we took and the things we learned here at New Tribes Bible Institute. We are now in our second year of training, and we are just learning more and more every day. The work load is definitely much heavier this year, but it is such a privilege to be able to spend so much time every day studying God's Word. 

In my first post, I talked about these classes: Biblical Foundations, Evangelism, Bibliology, Pentateuch, Hermeneutics, Acts and the Roman World, and Islam.

In my second post, I talked about these classes: Old Testement History, Proverbs, The Love of God, Prophets, Psalms, Ezra/Nehemiah/Esther, Intro to NTM, and Theology.

In my third post, I talked about these classes: Life of Christ, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Partnership Development, Bible Basis of Missions, Discipleship, Spiritual Warfare, Hermeneutics II, Christology, and Anthropology/Harmartiology.

Right now we are taking Romans, which is consuming much of our time. We are learning SO many amazing truths about justification and sanctification in this book. I'm pretty sure we could have spent the entire two years just studying Romans, and we still wouldn't be able to understand and grasp everything in it...but wow, the things that we can understand are just dumbfounding. Seeing the total depravity of mankind, it is amazing what God did to rescue us. I am discovering the depths of God's grace like I never knew before. We are reading the commentary The Gospel of God's Grace by Alva J. McClain along with the book of Romans.

Last week, we just finished up a class on Galatians. We learned a lot in this class about legalism and the true purpose of the law.

Aaron also finished a class last week called Missions in Church History (and I listened to it online from our apartment). It was both convicting and so encouraging to see the devotion and perseverence of many of the early church reformers and missionaries.

Aaron is in a class called Angelology right now, as well (and I am listening to it online). It is a study of angels, demons, Satan, and spiritual warfare. It is fascinating, to say the least.

We are also in a class called Family Relationships. This class covers many "family-oriented" topics from God's Word like marriage and child-raising. We are reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp (which I read this summer) and some other great marriage and parenting books. I'm excited for this class, because not only will we be talking about these issues in general, but also how some of these topics may look different on the missions field in a tribal setting.

Aaron also took a class on Roman Catholicism, since some of the tribal locations where NTM works have been influenced in the past by Catholocism. 

And finally, Aaron is taking the Perspectives course, which is being offered here at NTBI on Tuesday evenings. Even though we have learned a lot about many of the issues covered in the course already here at NTBI, I'm sure he will learn much more about world missions that will be beneficial to us as we look toward tribal missions.

Aaron is also busy this semester with a prison ministry that he is heading up with Nathan. Basically, guys from our school here travel to the prison each Thursday night, where they teach chronologically through the Bible to about 60-70 inmates. Aaron is really enjoying teaching these men who are hungry for God's Word, and he is getting some practice for teaching in the tribe someday, as well (even though it will be in a different language then :)).

I know I have said this before, but we are so thankful that New Tribes Mission so thoroughly trains their missionaries. It is a long training process...but we feel like every class is so beneficial and will equip us more for ministering to an unreached people group. God has been so good to reveal truths to us in each class from His Word, and it is just becoming clearer and clearer to us that His Word truly is powerful and effective.

So...that's what we're doing here right now. We're learning and growing and reading and studying and praising God for this opportunity!